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STUDENTS' E-MAIL NEWS FROM CZECH REPUBLIC
School of Social Sciences of Charles University
Smetanovo nabr. 6
110 01 Prague 1
Czech Republic
E-mail address: carolina@n.fsv.cuni.cz
Fax: (+422) 24810987
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
C A R O L I N A No 109, Friday, March 11, 1994.
EVENTS OF THE PAST WEEK (March 2 - 9)
Czech President's speech in the European Parliament
Vaclav Havel gave a speech on European integration and the European
Union's mission to deputies of the European Parliament in Strasbourg on
Tuesday, March 7.
Havel said the European Union should adopt a charter defining its
basic ideas and principles. If arguments about technical details on the
union's existence ruined the project it would be a great mistake, Havel
said.
At a later press conference, Havel said that the Czech Republic
would apply for a full EU membership when it considers this appropriate.
Havel denied that the Czech Republic had never declared it would join
the Union in conjunction with Poland and Hungary.
Vaclav Havel visits Pope in Vatican
President Vaclav Havel visited Pope John Paul II March 7. The pope
said he was interested in Czech and Slovak relationships and expressed
the wish that life in the Czech lands be in accordance with moral
values.
President Havel said in his speech that the Czech Republic is
a state built on respect for human liberties and rights.
The pope also spoke about property restitution claims unsettled
between the state and the church, as well as the situation in the former
Yugoslavia. During a later meeting with Italian President Oscar Luigi
Scalfaro, Havel also spoke about the Balkans. "Dawn is beginning but,
unfortunately, it is two years too late."
Havel flew to Strasbourg the same day where Secretary General of the
Council of Europe Catherine Lalumiere threw a special dinner in his
honor.
Vaclav Klaus negotiates with John Major
Czech Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus began an official two-day visit of
Great Britain March 7, meeting with British Prime Minister John Major to
discuss Czech integration into Western European structures. Klaus also
talked to Major about possible sending Czech soldiers into Bosnia and
Hercegovina.
Klaus refused to answer a CTK question on his support for sending
troops, saying he didn't want to speak before meeting government
ministers on the topic.
Klaus also met former prime minister Margaret Thatcher and Bank of
Europe for Restoration and Development President Jacques de Larosier.
Eduard Shevarnadze visits Vaclav Havel
Georgia State Council Chairman Eduard Shevarnadze met the President
Vaclav Havel March 6 to ask the Czech Republic, currently a member of
the UN Security Council, to support Georgia in finding solutions
Caucasus crises.
Both politicians agreed that a Georgian Embassy, with competency
also for the other countries in the region, would open soon in Prague.
The Czech Republic is about to open the general Consulate in Tbilisi.
Karel Kryl died
Czech poet and musician Karel Kryl, described as an eternal rebel,
a fighter for liberty, truth and nation's conscience, but most of all
a sensitive man of wisdom, died March 3 of a heart attack.
Kryl was legendary, with nearly all Czechs familiar with his songs.
Kryl wrote about the lies and hypocrisy under the old regime, themes he
continued after the revolution. The "post-November" developments were an
unpleasant surprise for Kryl, who was crushed by the break-up of
Czechoslovakia crushed him deeply.
Kryl, who was 49, had been living in Germany and visiting his native
country only occasionally.
Kryl died in the Bavarian town of Passau. His albums include
"Bratricku, zavirej vratka," "Rakovina," "Maskary," "Tekute pisky,"
"Dopisy" and others.
Will Czechs abroad be allowed to vote?
In an interview with Lidove Noviny, Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus said
Czechs living abroad should not be eligible to vote for Czech Parliament
deputies because they don't pay taxes. In another issue of the daily
representatives of several other political parties argued with this
opinion.
According to Parliament Vice-Chairman Karel Ledvinka (Civic
Democratic Alliance), limitation of the right to vote might be contrary
to the constitution.
Also second Parliament Vice-Chairman Jan Kasal (Christian Democratic
Union - Czech People's Party) disagreed with Klaus's opinion. "The
Parliament does not discuss only the budget, but also bills which can
influence the lives of countrymen," Kasal said. He added that in his
opinion the Czech countrymen are well informed about what is happening
in the country and cannot profoundly influence the election results.
Chairman of the Deputies Club of the Christian Democratic Party
(KDS) Marek Benda sees "underneath" the effort to limit the voting right
an irrational fear that the acceptance of this would encourage the
nationalistic right-wing Republicans of Miroslav Sladek. He said all
with Czech citizenship should have the right to vote. The state does not
represent only the taxpayers, but all citizens which constitute the
national society, Benda said.
Shady Loan of KDU-CSL (Christian Democratic Union) Alleged
Lidova demokracie (LD) daily carried an article February 26
alleging discrepancies in a loan KDU-CSL obtained from Leonell Mosca, an
Italian enterpreneur who owns a number of night-clubs and publishes
a local newspaper publisher.
LD journalists Ivan Cervenka and Cestmir Franek reported that Josef
Lux, chairman of KDU-CSL and Czech deputy premier, signed an agreement
about establishing a joint-venture company "Charitas" with Mosca
September 25, 1992. The Czech contribution to the joint-venture was the
trademark of LD and the newspaper offices in Prague and Brno. Mosca was
to invest technical equipment and know-how. A part of the deal was also
the commitment of the new company to provide KDU-CSL a loan of 5 million
crowns, the reporters wrote.
According to LD journalists, as early as October 23, 1992, 3
million crowns were promised by Mosca to pay off the the LD debts to the
printing company, Czech Typography, and thus to ward off the danger of
stopping the printing of this daily. According to the report, the money
was delivered to the bank account of the Czech Typography. However,
KDU-CSL stepped back from the contract at the end of November, allegedly
because of the unreliability of the Italian partner. The same is claimed
by the Italians about the Czech side.
In the meantime, all the LD debts have been paid by the new owner of
the paper, Fidelis Schlee. Italian millions were deposited on the Czech
Typography bank account for four months until KDU-CSL transferred them
to its own account on Lux's request April 9, 1993. According to one of
the Italian partners, Massimo Minciaroni, the money was to be returned,
but the Italians "didn't see a single Lira," Lidova demokracie reported.
"We are very disappointed about the non-trustworthy attitude of our
partner, especially when the Czechs were represented by the deputy Prime
Minister of the Czech Government, Josef Lux," Minciaroni said.
Meanwhile, L. Mosca was arrested in Italy on January 10, 1993, on
suspicion of drug smuggling. He was released on bail after a short time,
and the investigation is still pending. According to the report,
KDU-CSL still has the money gained from the Italian partners at its
disposal and the party admits only that it failed to declare the foreign
currency loan through an oversight.
The published report was reprinted by some other newspapers and the
case became an affair which once again opened the problem of political
party financing. Questions were raised about whether the parties should
present their complete budgets to the general public, if and how much
they should be financed by the state, and if all the names of the donors
should be announced. A majority of the political parties agreed on the
common standpoint that they should be subsidized by the state to avoid
the problems of survival and to prevent such scandals as the KDU-CSL
one. They also said that donations should be allowed, and be
tax-deductible, but opposed a duty to publish the names of donors.
Czech Regions and Companies Hurt by Import Surtax, Klaus Says
According to Czech Prime Minister Vaclav Klaus, the 10 percent
import surcharge imposed by the Slovak Republic on March 3 will not have
a big impact on the Czech economy.
He also said the most visible result of the step will be limiting
Czech exports to Slovakia. As a counter-step, the Czech Republic
devalued the Czech Crown by 3 percent within the system of the
reciprocial clearing settlement used in bilateral trade.
According to Klaus, the current import surcharge is a better
measure than the recent administrative restrictions of the food import
to Slovakia. Klaus also said the Czech Republic is immediatelly ready to
start the negotiation about abolishing so called "old-clearing bloc"
devoted to the payments originating from the period before the
separating of the old Czechoslovakian currency.
According to Slovak side, the import surcharge will be applied to
imports from all countries until July 1, 1994.
Importers will pay the surtax at customs office on the Slovak side
of border because some goods destined for other countries will be
released into the "transit regime".
The Social Support to the People Who Are in Need
According to the draft of a bill about state subsidies and social
support submitted to the parliamentary committees by the Czech
Government, not all families would be eligible to get the social support
- as was the earlier practice - but only those with incomes below
certain limits.
The limits would be fixed by the government based on an updated
level of the current minimum living cost (2,100 crowns per month).
According the proposal, child allowances would be paid by the state only
to those families with income lower than 250 percent the living minimum
(average salary = 5,800 crowns).
If adopted, this law would change the social policy of the Czech
Republic which now supports the population as a whole. The new policy
would only address the needy.
T.G Masaryk Born 144 Years Ago Monday
The 144th birthday celebration of the first Czechoslovak president,
was held Monday in Lany. The former president's grandchildren, Anna and
Herbert, representatives of the president's office, representatives of
the American, French, German, Israeli, Ukrainian, and Egyptian
embassies, Sokol, Legionnaire, a scout representatives, and a delegation
from the group Masaryk's Democratic Movement, all laid wreathes at the
grave. Tomas Garrique Masaryk is buried with his wife and son, Jan.
March 10 will also mark the 46th year since Jan Masaryk, the
Czechoslovak Republic's last pre-Communist foreign minister, died under
mysterious circumstances.
FROM SLOVAKIA
Democratic Left Party Still Refuses to Widen Government Coalition
Negotiations about overcoming the governmental crisis between the
ruling Movement for a Democratic Slovakia (HZDS) and their main
opposition, The Democratic Left Party (SDL) remain at a stand-still.
The main hold-up is that the SDL will not agree to be in a coalition
with the Slovak National Party (SNS), which is lead by a new chairman,
Jan Slota.
At the March 9 meeting of Parliament, President Michal Kovac sharply
criticised the work methods and ethics of Prime Minister Vladimir
Meciar.
Former SNS chairman Ludovit Cernak Founds New Political Organization
A founding meeting of the Slovak National-Democratic Party should
take place sometime in March. Ludovit Cernak, kicked out of SNS, is the
main initiator.
Slovak Coalition Apparently Not Asserting Referendum
President Michal Kovac will not call a referendum on holding early
Slovak elections, following allegations that many signatures were
unacceptable.
Also, A. Bodis, Bratislava Castle speaker, said that the question of
ending the terms of National Council deputies who leave their original
parties is unconstitutional.
The referendum was to address early elections, recall of deputies
and requirements for proving the origin of privatization money.
HZDS Vice-chairman Marian Husak handed the president a petition with
more than 400,000 signatures, demanding that the referendum be called.
The minimumm needed was 350,000 signitures.
On March 4, the newspaper Rude Pravo announced that much of the
petition didn't meet the legal requirements. In many cases, the
individual lists weren't headed by questions that are supposed to be the
object of the referendum. Addresses of the signers are often not exact
or not complete. Legal signatures will amount to less than 350,000.
CULTURE
Placido Domingo to Appear in Prague
The Spanish tenor Placido Domingo, accompanied by Romanian soprano
Angela Georgieova, will appear April 24 in the Prague Sports Hall. The
concert will be directed by American Eugene Khon.
A part of the profits, including a donation from Domingo, will go
towards child oncology. The budget of the concert is 15 million crowns,
a sum as yet unheard of here for a classical music recital. Tickets will
be cost from 390 to 3600 crowns. The Spanish member of the New York
Metropolitan Opera will stay in the presidential suite at the Penta
hotel.
Creators of Popular Czech Music Awarded
The annual awards of The Czech Academy of Popular Music were given
Saturday in Prague. The Gramy awards are divided into many different
categories, and honor the best creators in a given profession for the
past year.
Singer of the year went to Ivan Hlas. He also received the special
award for music for the movie musical Years of the Jackal (The film was
honored in the Czech Lion contest, which we wrote about in the last
issue of Carolina) Lucie Bila was voted best female singer, and the
group of the year was Yo Yo Band. The judges cast "Naked" by the group
Wanastowy Vjecy as the best video clip.
Jan and Frantisek Neved were voted best in the Folk and Country
category, Piano player Karel Ruzicka was best jazz artist.
The main Gramy award - signing into the hall of fame for a life's
work - was awarded to Vladimir Misik. Karel Gott and the group Olympic
were winners in the last two years.
Jagger Junior in Lucerna
Chris Jagger, younger brother of the famous Rolling Stones singer
Mick Jagger, will perform in Prague's Lucerna on April 12.
Chris's brother Mick, David Gilmour and other famous musicians
worked on the project.
Trio Escoude!
Trio Escoude, performed a concert of gypsy jazz at the French
Institute in Prague March 2.
The assemble is highly regarded by the most demanding jazz audience.
Kralicka's Bible Celebrates its Anniversary
The Pedagogical Comenius Museum in Valdstejn's Palace in Prague
hosted the exhibition of the final part of Kralick's Bible published in
Kralice nad Oslavou.
The fifth part of the Bible was published 400 years ago (1579-
1594).
Exchange Rates of the Czech National Bank (valid from March 9
CHECKS CASH
country Buy Sell Middle Buy Sell
Great Britain 1GBP 44.267 44.711 44.489 43.07 45.91
France 1FRF 5.084 5.136 5.110 4.91 5.31
Italy 1000ITL 17.617 17.795 17.706 16.94 18.48
Japan 100JPY 28.155 28.437 28.296 27.00 29.60
Canada 1CAD 21.942 22.162 22.052 21.16 22.94
Netherlands 1NLG 15.386 15.540 15.463 14.98 15.94
Austria 1ATS 2.456 2.480 2.468 2.41 2.53
Germany 1DEM 17.271 17.445 17.358 16.90 17.82
Switzerland 1CHF 20.595 20.801 20.698 20.20 21.20
USA 1USD 29.759 30.059 29.909 29.21 30.61
EMS-ECU 1XEU 33.455 33.791 33.623 - -
Slovakia 1XCU - - 33.623 - -
Czech Rep. 1XCU - - 39.072 Sk*)
*)the exchange rate listed by the Slovak National Bank
Slovak crown in Czech Republic Czech crown in Slovak Republic
Bank Buy Sell Bank Buy Sell
---------------------------------------------------------------------
CSOB 0.86 0.90 CSOB v SR 1.18 1.24
Agrobanka 0.84 0.89 Vseob.uverova b. 1.07 1.17
Ceska sporitelna 0.80 0.82 Slov.st.sporit. 1.12 1.18
Invest.a post.b. 0.76 0.81 Ludova banka 1.14 1.20
Komercni banka 0.77 0.81 Slov.pol.banka 1.10 1.20
Business in Prague's Exchange Stock
Starting next week Prague's stock exchange will be opened three days
a week, on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Beginning the second half of
1994, the exchange will be opened each day.
After March 1, when trades hit a record of 1.34 billion Czech crowns
in an advancing market, the results of the last two sessions March 3 and
8 were disappointing and the majority of shares dropped. Shares in
Cokoladovny Prague dropped from 10,000 to 9,500 Czech crowns, CEZ from
2,700 to 2,420 Czech crowns. )
Commercial Bank's New Shares
After a sale of new shares of the Czech Republic's biggest financial
institute, Commercial Bank, its property will rise from 7.5 to 9.5
billion Czech crowns. New shares of the nominal value of 2,000 Czech
crowns will be offered for sale to owners of current 500 crown shares.
During the first offering March 16- 30, owners of three to five
shares will be allowed to buy one more, the owners of six to nine shares
will be allowed two shares and so on.
According to the manager of the Commercial Bank Richard Salzmann,
the company had a 7.9 billion crowns gross profit last year according to
the international audit.
The balance of accounts rose from 6.4 billion crowns to 291 billion.
SPORT
Spring Round of Football Starts
After a winter break, the Czech's football extra league started
March 5-6 its 16th round with 8 matches.
Fans of football enjoyed good play. The results of these matches
show rising competition.
The match Viktorie Zizkov- Liberec ended unexpectedly 3:4. On the
other hand Slavie disappointed its fans with a scoreless tie with Plzen.
Sparta Prague returned to Prague with two points for winning over
Brno 2:0. This score brings Sparta ahead of Ceske Budejovice on the
football board.
Results of the 16th ground: FC Boby Brno-Sparta Prague 2:0, Slavie
Prague-Victoria Plzen 0:0, Victoria Zizkov-Slovan Liberec 3:4, Dukla
Prague-Svit Zlin 1:1, Ceske Budejovice-Vitkovice 1:1, Hradec
Kralove-Banik Ostrava 1:0, Sigma Olomouc-Bohemians Prague 5:0 and
Cheb-Petra Drnovice 2:0.
Czech Championships in Biathlon
Gabriela Surova and Roman Dostal became the new Czech champions in
biathlon March 5. Both are members of SKP-Police's Sport Club-Jablonex
Jablonec.
Surova combined an outstanding 7.5 km cross-country skiing with
accurate shooting. Surova's teammates Iva Knizkova and Jirina
Adamickova-Pelcova finished second and third.
Among men, Roman Dostal won over the Czech representatives Kos and
Holubec in the 10 km cross country run.
In the relay competition, SKP Jablonex came first in both men's and
women's categories.
WEATHER
After cloudy, windy and rainy days we were looking forward to seeing
the sun shining on Prague's roofs. Daily temperatures were between 3 and
15 Celsius degrees. At nights temperatures dropped below freezing.
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